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Meet OtaJoy

- Our Mission -

To provide our customers with delicious flavors from the best ingredients

Our goal at OtaJoy is to share the foods we know and love in a way that's good for our customers. That's why we're constantly educating ourselves on the latest advancements in food science and manufacturing. Our Research and Development team works to source ingredients responsibly and eliminate filler ingredients from our recipes, while our Production team strives to operate in the most environmentally-friendly way we can.

Our founder, Seiichi Sasaki, chose the popular folklore character Otafuku to represent his company because he wanted the happiness and humility associated with her character to be associated with ours as well. Today, we strive to be a company that provides opportunities for growth among our employees and within our communities. We're honored to have the responsibility of caring for our customer's health and will continue to explore new ways to create quality products in socially and environmentally ethical ways.

- Our History -

The history of Otafuku Foods, Inc. goes back to 1922 when Sasaki Shoten opened for business as a sake and soy sauce wholesale/retail store in Hiroshima, Japan.

The rice vinegar brewery started operations in 1938, and the company lost everything when the atomic bomb hit the city of Hiroshima. Vinegar production had to be restarted from scratch after the war.

During WWII, a savory "pancake" with readily-available ingredients became popular due to a widespread shortage of rice. In 1950, "Otafuku Worcestershire Sauce" was introduced as the dish became even more popular, followed by "Otafuku Okonomi Sauce" in 1952. A lot of arduous research and development went on behind the scenes, but soon Otafuku had one of Japan's best-loved sauces. As Japan's passion for okonomiyaki grew, so did Otafuku Sauce Co., and they quickly expanded their line of sauces to include yakisoba, tonkatsu and takoyaki.

Today, Hiroshima is the home of 'Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki', which layers multiple ingredients such as dough, yakisoba and heaps of fresh cabbage into a grilled cake, which is topped with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. The dish, commonly served during summer festivals, has become known as 'Japanese soul food' and has become popular as a street food as well as a restaurant staple. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is often compared to Kansai-style okonomiyaki, which mixes the ingredients together in a batter before pouring onto the grill. Both styles have gained a cult following throughout Japan and have even formed a friendly rivalry between fans.

In 1998, Otafuku Sauce Co. expanded to the United States and set up their North American branch, Otafuku Foods, in Torrance, CA. The subsidiary operated in South Bay for 15 years before moving to Santa Fe Springs, CA., to establish a location with a factory and a warehouse as well as an office. Today Otafuku Foods, Inc. proudly produces sauces for both national and private brands across the United States.

Today, Otafuku is known as one of Japan's biggest seasoning sauce manufacturers and continues to grow in North America as well. The founder's two-pronged philosophy, "Never compromise the quality of the ingredients" and "Every drop counts," has been successfully carried out by the generations that followed. A strong passion for better products lives on.